September 17, 2012

I've been slowly catching up on my sewing projects. Preschool has started and so I have a few extra hours a week to work. This is my first spiderweb block for Lee in my Bits and Pieces quilting bee group. I hope to finish the other block tonight! The finished block measures 10 3/4 inches.The block Lee designed for her quilt and her tutorial can be found here: Naturally Neutral and Webby Quilt. I've made a free template based on her instructions that you can download and print HERE.

I'll show you the process of making this quilt block - if you scroll down really fast, maybe it will look animated!

print out the template on 8.5 x 11 paper

cut along the dotted lines

Fold along these two lines. It just occurred to me that I can put the fabric on the reverse side and eliminate this step!

add various sized strips to each side to cover the paper all the way to the edge.

press the paper and fabric to make it behave.

trim along all edges, right up to the paper.

it's looking pretty!

repeat three more times

play around with your triangles until you have them arranged just so

with the paper still attached, sew the triangle blocks together, then remove the papers.

viola!

I should mention that you should use a small stitch width so that the papers are easy to rip off of the fabrics. I used two different ways to sew the strips together, 1. sewing the papers and strips together (like paper piecing) and 2. just sewing a bunch of strips together and then placing on the edge. The second method was easier, but I liked sewing to the paper for stability and for using up my really small scraps.